Digest of international news for the week

PrChina, US call for new approach to bilateral ties, Air India plans to expand its global network using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft

 

 

Saturday

Washington: Amidst hacking row and US' push in the Pacific region, President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping discuss a host of prickly issues, including cyber security and climate change, as they call for a new approach towards bilateral ties.

Islamabad: Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says he is ready to facilitate the withdrawal of foreign troops from neighbouring Afghanistan but US drone strikes in his country "must stop" as they are a violation of sovereignty.

Sunday

Johannesburg: Prayers have been said in churches across South Africa for the 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, who spent a second day in hospital in a "serious but stable" condition for treatment of a lung infection that has recurred.

London: Air India plans to expand its global network using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, which will emerge as the "game changer" for the national carrier says Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh.

Monday

Baghdad: A wave of attacks mostly against Sunni areas of Iraq, killed 70 people in renewed bloodshed that, coupled with widespread political paralysis, has revived fears of all-out sectarian war.

London: India has emerged as the fifth most tracked country by the US intelligence which used a secret data-mining programme to monitor worldwide internet data.

Tuesday

Islamabad: Israel has exported military equipment, including hi-tech gear used in combat jets, over the past five years to Pakistan and Arab countries with which it has no diplomatic relations, according to a media report which was dismissed by Islamabad and Tel Aviv.

Beijing: China successfully launched its fifth and longest manned space mission with three astronauts, including a woman, on board 'Shenzhou-10' as the Communist giant aims to build an ambitious permanent space station of its own by 2020.

Washington: Top American officials have defended the controversial secret surveillance programme of the Obama administration, saying such efforts helped them to abort several terrorist attacks and nab terrorists like David Headley, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks convict.

Wednesday

Beijing: Edward Snowden, the whistleblower on American spy programme that targeted global internet traffic says he will fight any extradition attempts by US and is reported to have "revealed" new information on Washington's snooping and cyber attacks on China.

Kyoto: World's oldest person in recorded history - 116-year-old Jiroemon Kimura - died of natural causes early today in his hometown in western Japan, just days after the demise of a Chinese woman with a rival claim to the title.

Thursday

London: Staff at an Irish hospital fail to adequately assess and monitor Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar who died after suffering a miscarriage, a key report on her death said today and warned that such incidents could happen again in the absence of clarity on abortion law.

Kathmandu: The much-awaited elections in Nepal will be held on November 19, the interim government announces hoping that the new Constituent Assembly will draft the new Constitution and end the political impasse.

Friday

Kathmandu: Head of Nepal's interim government appeals to the country's warring political parties not to boycott the long-pending elections and use the historic opportunity to ensure "free and fair" polls on November 19.

London: The Indian economy is doing a lot better than the rest of the world, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid says and expresses confidence that the growth rate would return to 7 or 8% in a few years.

London: Prince William, second-in-line to the throne, will be first British king with proven Indian ancestry, DNA analysis has revealed.

London: A cascade of errors and uncertainty about the law on abortion contributed largely to the tragic death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar at an Irish hospital last year, according to an official enquiry report.